Our Trip

Dear Parents,

Sometimes it takes a little looking back to rediscover something valuable. I had just such an experience this summer while I was camping with my family in Idaho.

A few years back Linda and I made a pact to go on a "big trip" every other year. This "vacation pact" has led us to explore places such as Denmark, Alaska, and Canada's Northwest Territories among others. Well, as we looked at our family budget this year we realized that it would be best not to stray too far from home. This past spring we began narrowing down our options and, after much thought about where we could go exploring and what we wanted to see, we decided that a trip to central Idaho would be just the ticket. With route suggestions from my parents and from Carrie, we began preparing and packing. At just about the last minute I decided to throw in my fly-fishing equipment. It took me a few minutes of rummaging through our garage, but eventually I recovered it all. With dust filling the air around me I inspected the equipment to see if everything that I might need was there and still functional. One thing that wasn't functional was my memory. You see it has been nearly 20 years since I last picked up my fly rod and got the line wet. In that time I had forgotten how to tie a few essential knots. So, with a little more digging around, I found a book that I had used when I first learned how to fly fish, The Curtis Creek Manifesto by Sheridan Anderson. In it is everything a beginner could want, including how to tie a few knots... I added it to the pile.

After spending a few days in the Cascades with my parents and my sister's family, Linda and I made our break for the wilds of Idaho. Following a photocopied map supplied by Carrie, we ended up traveling through the northeast corner of Oregon and into the Hell's Canyon Recreation Area. Wow, was that beautiful (but I have to admit that I did take one wrong turn and got us lost for a good chunk of an afternoon). The roads were not quite I-5, in fact they seemed just a bit narrower than my truck and at least as curvy and steep as any of the abandoned Forest Service roads found in the Olympic Mountains. But we did make it through and we did thoroughly enjoy it.

A few days later, after lots of stunning scenery and uncounted mosquito bites, we meandered into the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho. Stanley was hopping when we arrived. They were in the midst of setting up for the annual Arts Fair (I was told at the Visitor's Center that last year they drew over 10,000 people) and we found out that there wasn't a campsite available for miles around. Perhaps it was the pout on my face or Linda batting her eyelashes, however it happened we did get an insider's tip about a campground that had just reopened, and thankfully we followed that tip. When we arrived, we found a beautiful campsite right alongside the Salmon River, AKA "The River of No Return." It was just about the perfect spot; relatively private, the sound of the river gently tumbling over and around some rocks, smiling river rafters waving as they passed by from time to time, and a few fly-fishers gracefully casting their Royal Wulff and Renegade flies across the water. Watching this reminded me that my fly-fishing equipment was quietly waiting, packed in the far recesses of my camper. But it also reminded me that I didn't have a license and that I'd better keep my pole tucked away. I had to let myself be content with just watching and occasionally talking to those who were getting their lines wet. But I could feel some long lost memories beginning to stir.

A few days later while restocking our ice-chest, we decided to call my parents and see if they wanted to meet up for a few more days of camping together. They were very excited and we ended up planning to meet in three days at their favorite campground along the Lochsa River. In two days, they were there (they'd left late in the evening and traveled nearly through the night), what a nice surprise for us. It just so happened that this was another near perfect campsite (site #4 at Whitehouse campground near Powell, ID Ð we get first dibs). For those of you who haven't been there, the Lochsa River is one of the clearest and cleanest rivers you can imagine. It figured prominently in the Lewis and Clarke expedition in 1805, and it just so happens that it is one of the best cutthroat trout rivers in Idaho.

Well, you can probably see this coming, it didn't take long before I was digging out my fly rod, seating the reel, and looking in my book to see which knot I needed to get my Elk Hair Cadis fly attached to the line. Donning sandals and shorts I waded out into the water and began swinging that fly back and forth until I could place it just about where I wanted to. I kept at it until another memory bubbled to the surface: mosquitoes will attack any human not covered with repellant.

I never did catch a fish but I did rediscover my enjoyment of fly-fishing (or at least fly-casting) and in a way, I can credit it to Linda's and my needing to take our vacation closer to home this year.

You might be wondering what this all has to do with Swan School. Well in fact I really just wanted to share a bit about my summer vacation and I didn't think Carrie would let me spend a parent meeting showing you pictures from my trip ("...and this is my nephew Connor cooking a hot dog, and this is my other nephew Alex...").

Okay, okay, there is a connection, although some of you might consider it a bit of a stretch. This year we are seeing fewer students than we have for a while. Perhaps it is due to the economy. Perhaps it is because of demographics. Likely it is a mixture of a number of factors. But it does have an effect on our program. With fewer students we have less revenue and that translates into some trimming of the budget. Some of the more noticeable changes will be that art will be integrated into the classrooms and there will be a reduction in the amount of time students will spend in music. This trimming of the budget is necessary because of our lower enrollment, but it is also giving us a chance to refocus and rediscover a few things that are foundational to a Swan School education.

Over the summer a group of parents, board and staff members developed a new strategic plan for Swan School. While doing this we reworked the school's mission statement along with our core values (both are now posted on our website). Providing us with a road map for the next few years, it has also helped us rediscover what is essential and foundational to our school while giving us a lens to focus with as we adjust our budget. I won't go into the details of the new strategic plan here as the board is set on doing just that in the near future, but I do know that it helps our school to be more proactive and less reactive when it comes to things like our lower enrollment. It also helps us fine-tune our educational program to provide more cohesion between classes as well as forward through time.

During Linda's and my trip to Idaho, there were some rough roads that we followed, at least one "accidental side-trip," and a few mid-course corrections based on tips from some local experts. Looking back I see that this trip did allow us to explore some new territory while helping me to re-discover some things that, although dusty, have been a source of enjoyment for me in the past.

I'm sure that the "trip" we take with Swan School this year will be equally as interesting. And who knows what we will discover or re-discover along the way.

A great way to begin this year's trip is to make it to this Saturday's annual registration and work party. It takes place on the 29th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. In addition to getting your child/children registered for the year, we have a number of things that we need help with to get the school ready. It is also be a chance for us to come together as a community and do something for the school while having fun and reconnecting with one another.

Also, don't forget that next Tuesday, September 1 from 5 to 6 p.m. is our new parent orientation. This is a great opportunity for parents that are new to our school as well as parents that have been here previously but whose children are changing classrooms to get some questions answered and find out about various procedures as well as opportunities.

I'm looking forward to our journey together this year. See you soon :-)

Russ